US595756A - Sending apparatus for pneumatic-despatch-tube systems - Google Patents

Description

4 SheetsSheet 1.

(No Model.)

I B. G. BATGHELLER. SENDING APPARATUS FOR PNEUMATIC DESPATGH TUBE SYSTEMS.

N0. 595,756. Patented Dec. 21, 1897.

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m: norms PETER; co, PHOYO-IITNQ, WASHINGTO 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

B. G. BATOHELLER. SENDING APPARATUS FOR PNEUMATIG DESPATOH TUBE SYSTEMS.

Patented Dec. 21,1897

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(No Model.) 4 Sl1eets--Sheet 3.

B. O. BATGHELLER.

SENDING APPARATUS FOR PNEUMATIC DESPATGH TUBE SYSTEMS. No. 595,756. Patented De0.21, 1897.

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

B. O. BATGHELLER.

SENDING APPARATUS FOR PNEUMATIC DESPATGH TUBE SYSTEMS.

No. 595,756. Patented De0.21, 1897.

H nnl 1|""'-. l 1 z a A Q g N N I a 2% I H'|u1m---- Hl"""-= WZZWESSES [NEW/I02 UNITED STATES ATENT FFICEQ BIRNEY C. BATCHELLER, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE UNITED STATES MAIL PACKAGE AND GENERAL PNEUMATIC DELIVERY COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

SENDING APPARATUS FOR PNEUMATIC-DESPATCH-TUBE SYSTEMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 595,756, dated December 21, 1897. Application filed June 23, 1896. Renewed October 22,1897. Serial No. 656,065. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, BIRNEY O. BATCHEL- LER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sending Apparatus for Pneumatic-Despatch-Tube Systems; and

I do hereby declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improved substation sending apparatus for use in connection with a pneumatic-despatch tube employing a column of air in which a carrier or carriers are propelled by the air-pressure as a motive force.

The object of the invention is to facilitate the introduction of carriers into a despatch- 2o tube at any desired point where the sending apparatus may be situated, and especially at substations along the line of the tube, and one particular purpose of my present construction is to provide an automatically operating valve mechanism for the actuating-cylinder of the sending apparatus, which valve mechanism will be self-acting at certain times for the purpose of causing a carrier to be intro-' duced into the tube at the time when said tube is clear of other carriers at a point adjacent to the sending apparatus, the present invention being used in conjunction, if desired, with a locking mechanism for temporarily holding the sending apparatus inopera- 3 5 tive, all as fully set forth in my simultane ously-pending application for Letters Patent filed June 23, 1896,Serial No. 596, 620, in which the mechanism of the present invention is set forth and explained, but not claimed.

- My invention therefore consists,essentially, in the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, substantially as will be hereinafter described, and then more particularly pointed out in the claims. In the annexed drawings, Figure 1 is a transverse sectional elevation of my improved sending apparatus and other parts of a pneumatic-despa'tch system. Fig. 2 is a transverse section similar to Fig. 1, but taken through the entire sending apparatus which constitutes the present invention, including the actuating-cylinder,valve mechanism, and other parts. Fig. 3 is a detail plan view of a part of the devices which may be employed for locking the sending apparatus temporarily. Fig. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional elevation of a part of the sending apparatus arranged in connection with the .main tube and a by-pass. Fig. 5 is ahorizontal section of the same parts shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail View of the locking levers or pawls which temporarily engage and restrain the sending apparatus, rendering the same inoperative for the time being. Fig. 7

is a detail sectional viewshowing the yoke connection of the operating-lever with the valve-rod belonging to the mechanism which actuates the sending devices.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout all the different figures of the drawings.

A form of mechanism for locking the sending apparatus and rendering the same temporarily inoperative is shown in elevation in Fig. 1, B representing the air-chamber there- 7 5 of a, the air-conduit, screwed into the wall of the valve-casing E which is on the side of the air-chamber 13; H a conical cap on the opposite end of the air-chamber B, said cap having a perforated apex; h, a horizontal rod whose end projects through the perforated apex of the conical cap H said rod being actuated by the air-pressure within the chamber B; H, an electromagnet on the top of the air-chamber B; I, a lever actuated by said electromagnet; Q Q, electric wires or conductors leading to the electromagnet, the same being some of the essential mechanical parts of a form of locking device shown and de scribed in my other pending application here- 0 inabove alluded to, which form of locking mechanism is likewise shown in elevation in Fig. 2 in order to bring out its arrangement relatively to the position of the actuating mechanism of the sending apparatus, it being 9 5 observed that the rod h acts against the arm or trip-lever J 4 on the shaft J in the opera; tion of locking the sending apparatus; but it I will be understood, of course, that I am not to be restricted to this particular conjoint artoo if 1 rangement of lockin g mechanism with a sendin g apparatus, but reserve the liberty of varying the same and of rearranging and reconstructing the combination as will be suitable and will best facilitate the operation of the sending apparatus.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, it will be seen that the main despatch-tube A is provided at a certain point with a removable section, as c, which is carried by the swinging frame 0' C, pivotally supported upon the horizontal shaft C, which has bearings at each end in the standards C C Between the ends of the swinging tube-section c and the adjacent ends of the main tube A are inserted short tubesections A A which are formed integral with a curved by-pass tube A, the said sections A A having lateral slots or openings A A through which the air passes into the by-pass tube A, and thus it will be seen that the column of air in the tube A is enabled to preserve its continuity at all times through the by-pass tube A, even if the swinging tube-section 0 be removed from alinement with the main tube and the passage of the air in a straight line shut off, as it were. The swinging tube-section c is thus arranged so that it can be moved into line with the main tube or out of line, accordingly as may be desired. The swinging frames 0 C carry not only the tube-section 0, but also another similar tubesection 0, and either the tube-section c or the tubesection 0 may be brought into alinement with the main tube A. (See Fig.2.) In" this figure the tube-section c is in alinement with the main tube, while the tube-section c is out of alinement. When the parts are in this position, it will be understood that a carrier may be inserted into the tube a. By shifting the tubes, throwing the tube 0 out of alinement with the main tube and the tube a into alinement therewith, the carrier previously inserted into the tube 0 will be placed into the main tube and brought into a position where it will be caught in the main column of air, the pressure of which will immediately propel it to its destination. As already suggested, the continuity of the air-pressure Within the main tube is kept constant through the by-pass A while the shifting of the tubes is taking place. On the standards (J2 C2 are the curved projecting plates C5, between which the tube-section 0 remains while the shifting of the apparatus is taking place,and which plates serve to keep the ends of the tube 0 closed when the latter is not in alinement with the main tube.

On one or the other of the movable frames O is a rigid projection or arm (3, to which is pivoted a link d, which is likewise pivoted to a slide d that operates on an inclined way or slide-bar D2, said link cl and said slide 61 being pivoted to the end of a piston-rod d, which projects through a stufling-box in the head of the inclined cylinder D, which cylinder is arranged in some position in propinquity to the sending apparatus and contains within it the piston D, to which the pistonrod 61 is connected. The wall of the cylinder D is provided with an air-passage leading to one end of the cylinder, and an air-passage 70 leading to the other end, in order that air may be conveyed alternately to each end of the cylinder for the purpose of acting upon the opposite sides of the piston. It 15 obvious that thedriving of the piston from one end of the cylinder to the other will, through the connection of the piston-rod d and the link 61' with the swinging frames that carrythe tubesections, cause the said sections to be so shifted that a carrier may easily be placed into the main tube to be propelled. On the side wall of the cylinder D is a valve-casing M, containing the valves K and K, carried on the valve-stem 7t. At one end of the valve chamber M is an air-inlet port 7& and at the other end is another air-inlet port 70 In the valve-chamber are also ports 70 k 7t, the middle one serving as an exhaust-port and the othertwo serving, alternately, as inlet and exhaust ports. The inlet-ports k and 70 are connected with some suitable source of airsupply by means of any convenient tubing or piping which may be employed for the purpose. One end of the Valve rod or stem projects through a stuffing-box at one end of the valve-chamber M, while the other end passes out through the other end of the valve chamber and enters a tubular extension at on the end of the valve-chamber M. The valve-stern k within this tubular extension on is enveloped for a portion of its length with a spring m \vhich is tensioned between a shoulder on the valve stem and a sliding sleeve 'm engaged by the lateral pins 9n on, projecting from the yoke L on the lower end of the lever L. On the adjacent end of the valve-rod 7c is an integral head.

The lever L is pivoted on some suitable frame and is provided with a handle Z and also with a catch L adapted to engage notches in the segment L. Said segment L is notched so that the catch L may hold the lever in the position where the valves in the valve-chamber will be so placed as to admit air to one end of the cylinder D, or in the other position where such valves will be changed into the other extreme position for the purpose of admitting air into the opposite end of the cylinder D. It will be obvious that the operator by disengaging the catch L and shifting the lever L may operate the valve mechanism for the purpose of shifting the valves into one position or the other, as the case may be. If it is desired to insert a carrier into the main tube, and for this purpose a carrier has been placed within the tube-section 0' when the latter is in the position shown in Fig. 2, the operator will then lay hold of the lever and shift the valves toward the right of the position shown in Fig. 2, when air will immediately be admitted behind the piston, the latter actuated, and the desired transferrence of the carrier from a point without to a point within the tube accomplished; but if, when the operator lays hold of the lever L, he finds that the valve mechanism and the sending apparatus are lockedthat is to say, if there is an obstacle against the projecting end of the valve-rod It, said obstacle being the lever J yet nevertheless it is not necessary for him to refrain from operating lever L, because by virtue of the spring arrangement just described he may shift the lever L as before, the result of which will be to compress the spring m against the shoulderof the valve-rod k, the lever L being then held in its shifted position by means of the catch L and when the parts are thus arranged it will be obvious that a release of the catch or lever J 3 from the end of the valve-rod it will allow the spring m to come automatically into play, and the result will be that the valves will then be automatically shifted Without further action on the part of the operator, and hence when the automatic unlocking of the sending apparatus takes place in consequence of the passage of the carrier then momentarily in the tube opposite said sending apparatus there will take place a simultaneous automatic operation of the shifting mechanism, whereby another carrier will be inserted into the tube.

Adjacent to the projecting end of the valvestem is is the projection, trip-arm, or catch lever, as it may be indifferently termed, J which is formed rigidly with the horizontal shaft J on which shaft is likewise a downwardly-projecting arm-or lever J In line with the lever J 4 is a bell-crank device consisting of the downwardly-projecting arm j, the stud or shaft J, and the catch-army, which is adapted to engage a notch J in the swinging mechanism that carries the tubesections 0 cas, for instance, in the lower edge of one of the frames 0. When the catcharm j is in engagement with the notch J there can be no shifting of the swingingmechanism; but it is obvious that said catch device j' will drop out of the notch J 'of its own weight when there is no force opposing against the downwardly-projecting arm j. When a force presses against the downwardly-projecting arm J, the result is to oscillate the shaft J 2 and place the upwardly-projecting arm J 3 against the end of the valve-rod It, so that said rod cannot be shifted. If a horizontal rod acts against the downwardly-projecting arm J 4 and shifts the same sufficiently, the result will be that said horizontal rod will pass beneath the projection J allowing the latter to rest and ride thereon, thereby making an effectual lock for the parts, and said rod may likewise be directed against the arm j of the bell-crank device, causing the catcharm j to engage the notch J.

Numerous changes may be made in the precise construction, arrangement, and combination of the various parts without departing from my invention, and I reserve the liberty of so varying the invention in these particulars as will best adapt it for practical use.

It is important to have a packing at the joints of the swinging sections of the tube, and hence I interpose the L-shaped piece of leather or other suitable packing material, as shown at 6%, between the swinging section 0 and the stationary parts A A of the main tube.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In'a pneumatic-despatch-tube system, the combination with the main tube, of two or more tube-sections, a swinging support therefor, fluid-pressure means for shifting said swinging support for the purpose of placing one or the other of the tube-sections in alinement with the main tube, and a lever for controlling said fluid-pressure motor, together with an antomatically-yielding connection between the lever and the fluid-pressure motor, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a pneumatic-despatch tube, of two or more tube-sections, a supporting-frame therefor, and means for shifting said supporting-frame for the purpose of introducing one or the'other of said tube-sections into alinement with the main tube, the same consisting of a cylinder, a piston therein whose piston-rod operates to shift the supporting-frame, a valve-chamber on the cylinder, valve mechanism with-in the same, an operating-lever for said valve mechanism, a yielding connection between said lever and the valve mechanism, and locking devices for restraining the operation of said valve mechanism when a carrier happens to be passing through the main tube opposite to the substation where the sending apparatus is locked. 3. In a pneumatic-despatch-tube system, the'combination with the main tube, of two or more tube-sections, a swinging support therefor, fiuidpressure means for shifting said swinging support to place one or the other of the tube-sections in alinement with the main tube, valve mechanism controlling said fluidpressure motor, a lever for operating said valve mechanism, and spring connection between the operating-lever and the valve mechanism, substantially as described.

4. In a pneumatic despatch tube system, the combination with the main tube, of two or more tube-sections, a swinging support therefor, fiuidpressure means for shifting said swinging support to place one or the other of the tube-sections in alinement with the main tube, valve mechanism controlling said fluidpressure motor, a lever for operating said valve mechanism,a spring interposed between the valve-stem and the operating-lever, means locking the valve stem against movement when a carrier is passing in the main tube opposite the substation, but allowing the spring to be put under tension by the lever, substantially as described. a

5. In a pneumatic-tube system, the combination at a substation of a sending apparatus, a lock therefor, restraining the apparatus from movement when a carrier is in the main tube opposite the substation, a motor for shifting said sending apparatus, and means restraining said motor from action when the sending apparatus is locked, substantially as described.

6. In a pneumatic-tube system, the combination at a substation of a sending apparatus, a lock therefor, restraining the apparatus from movement when a carrier is in the main tube opposite the substation, a motor for shifting said sending apparatus, a manuallyoperated lever controlling the valve mechanism of said motor, means locking the valve mechanism when a carrier is passing the substation, a yielding tension device between said lever and the stem of said valve mechanism, whereby said yielding tension device Will be put under tension if the operatinglever is moved while the valve mechanismis locked, and will automatically shift the valve mechanism when the same becomes unlocked, substantially as described.

7. In a pneumatic-tube system, a motor for shifting the sending apparatus, means looking the valve mechanism of said motor when the sending apparatus is looked, manuallyoperated means for positively shifting said valve mechanism when unlocked, and a tension device between said manually-operated means and the Valve mechanism, which will be put under tension if said last-named means are operated when the valve mechanism is locked, and automatically shift the valve mechanism upon the same being unlocked, substantially as described.

' S. In a pneumatic-tube system, the combination at a substation of a sending apparatus, a motor for shifting said sending apparatus, and means restraining said motor from action when a carrier is in the main tube opposite the substation, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

BIRNEY O. BATCHELLER.

Witnesses:

HENRY B. HATHAWAY, ALPHONSE DESSION.

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